Park’s progress

A MAJOR consultation project has been launched to find out what residents of a seaside town want from their local park.

The Friends of Seaton Park group was formed by passionate users last year with the aim of breathing new life into the amenity.

After being awarded £3,000, they are now in the process of canvassing as many people as possible to discover how the park could be improved.

The group has created a survey and hopes to get hundreds of responses.

It recently gauged the opinion of dozens of park users during a fun day in the park.

And it is set to be delivered to scores of homes in the area soon.

Karen Clark, chairman of the Friends of Seaton Park, said: “We are going to put it in the locality to get people’s perceptions and what they want from the park, whether that is a multi-purpose building, a skatepark, wildlife or a family park.

“We are looking for all sorts of ideas.

“We are pushing froward with things as quickly as possible.”

The friends group was given £3,000 from the town’s South Neighbourhood Forum to carry out the survey.

The group was formed last year after encouragement from local councillors and Hartlepool Voluntary Development Agency.

The group also wants to raise the park’s profile in the rest of the region.

Karen added: “A lot of people come to Seaton from all over Teesside so it’s about promoting the park and opening it up.

“We want to make Seaton Carew a destination people want to come to and not just for the sea front.”

People will also be able to complete the questionnaire online when the group’s website launches soon.

The next meeting of the Friends of Seaton Park is on Wednesday, June 8, at Seaton Carew Methodist Church, Farndale Road, at 6pm.